Five Friday Favorites 03/25/16

Happy Friday! Today is my last full day in Columbus, and tomorrow my parents will drive me to Chicago, all fully stocked up on groceries and love and rest. I don’t have much to say except it’s been a perfect break. I hope your week has been as fabulous as mine and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. Let’s start it off by looking at some of our favorite things from the week!

• The Americans

My parents and I decided we wanted to just hang out and watch TV on Tuesday night, but we didn’t have a specific show in mind. My dad had heard good things about The Americans and so we started watching that. It’s focused on the lives of KGB spies in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of Reagan’s presidency and it is intense and addictive. I highly recommend it.

• A day with my dad

My mom worked on Tuesday, and my dad took the day off to hang out with me. When I’m on break, I spend a lot of days or evenings just hanging out with my mom. We shop, run errands, and grab lunch a lot, but I get a little less one-on-one time with my dad. The thing is, they’re both some of my favorite people, so I adore time with each of them.

We went to the gym together in the morning, he made me an egg sandwich for lunch, we figured out my taxes and money in general, and went on a long, chatty walk with Pippa. It was a lovely, productive, and relaxing day.

• Hanging out with my mom

We’ve done a lot of work, shopping, and just spending time together. I loved it all. Yesterday after a (very successful) shopping trip, she bought us the Side By Side bracelets from Alex & Ani. The message that comes with them is perfect:

Known to hold hands to secure themselves from drifting apart, otters are symbols of friendship and unity. Rafting side-by-side, otters are comforting creatures adaptable to change and transition. Bask in the glow of good times and make the best of what floats your way.

• Sparkling ICE Pink Grapefruit

My mom introduced me to Sparkling ICE over break, and this is my favorite flavor so far. It’s subtly sweet, super bubbly, and completely refreshing. 

• Dinner at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant

Oh. My. Goodness. We went to Cooper’s Hawk for the first time at the end of winter break and it was utterly delicious. After I wrote about it, the owner, Tim McEnery, sent me a nice note and two vouchers for free meals.

This was incredibly nice of him (thank you!), and I have to say, the second meal we had there was as incredible as the first. Honestly, last night’s was probably even better. 

We started dinner with warm, slightly salty pretzel bread and sweet, creamy butter. Fact: fluffy carbs are an excellent way to take the edge off crazy hunger. 

I ordered the pistachio-crusted grouper with grilled broccoli and asparagus for my entree, and it was perfect. I’ve never grilled broccoli, but I think I need to start. The pistachio crust was perfectly seasoned and was nice and crisp on top of the hearty grouper. I loved this meal. 

{The plate was huge and I feel like it dwarfs the food a bit, but that was a really nice-sized piece of fish.}

My mom was kind enough to give me one of the drunken shrimp that came with her surf & turf. I mean, could I really turn down bacon-wrapped shrimp topped with the freshest-tasting guacamole? No.

And then there was dessert. Since I totally won dessert in December, we had to order the same thing… times 2. We split two Reese’s ice cream cookies, which are basically chocolate chip cookies with Reese’s pressed on top, cooked in mini skillets and topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. 

Demolished. It doesn’t get any better. This is my favorite dessert, ever. Huge thanks again to Cooper’s Hawk and Tim McEnery for such a fantastic meal!

And that’s all for me this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I’ll talk to you next week!

Are you watching any good TV shows?

Do you like sparkling water?

What are you loving this week?

Linking up with Heather and Katie